New Delhi , June 29: India recorded the highest score in a T20 World Cup final, posting /5 against South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sunday.
Led by Virat Kohli’s rearguard 76 and Axar Patel’s counter-attacking 47, India braved a top-order wobble after batting first to make a competitive total against a strong Proteas attack. India were reduced to 34 for three within the Powerplay as skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav departed in succession.
Kohli and Axar’s 76-run stand resurrected India’s innings before Shivam Dube’s handy cameo propelled India past the finals record.
India surpassed Australia’s 173/2 in the 2021 T20 World Cup final against New Zealand with their splendid late recovery. Kohli also registered the second-highest score by an Indian in a final, behind his own 77 from the 2014 final against Mirpur. In the inaugural T20 World Cup, former opener Gautam Gambhir struck 75 to eventually help India to a five-run win.
What is the highest succesful chase in a T20 World Cup final?
Incidentally, Australia’s 173/2 is the highest successful chase in a final, chasing down the target against New Zealand to clinch their maiden title in Dubai 2021. South Africa will therefore need to script a record chase to earn their maiden T20 World Cup title.
While the Proteas had chased down a 208-run target in the inaugural T20 World Cup match against West Indies in 2007, their second-best effort across nine editions since have only been 172/5 against India in St Lucia in 2010 during an eventual 14-run defeat.
